Electrical switch



Sept. 3% 1924.

v F. E. KLOSS ELECTRICAL SWITCH Filed Dec. 27. 1921 in Figure 1.

Patented Sept. 30, 1924.

UNITED STATES FRANK E. KLOSS, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

ELECTRICAL SWITCH.

Application filed December 27, 1921. Serial No. 525,086.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK E. KLoss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of isconsin, have invented new and useful' Improvements in Electrical Switches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electrical switches and is particularly directed to the type generally known as tumbler or toggle switches.

Objects of this invention are to provide a tumbler switch which will have long life; which is mechanicall strong; which may be made in any desire size, as ithas no inherent mechanical limitations; which has large bearing surfaces for its wearing and striking parts; and which has a cushioning action for its tumbler, thereby further le'ssening the wear.

Further objects are to provide a switch which combines the advantages of both a push'switch and a tumbler switch; which has a single projectingmember, serving as its actuating part; which displays only one indicating legend in either of its extreme positions; and which is ornamental and simple in design.

An embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the switch, showing the switch closed.

Figure 2 is a view from the rear of the switch, with the parts in the position shown Figure 3 is a fragmentary view, similar to F igure 1, showing the switch open.

Figure 4 is a detail of the manually operable actuating member.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a front view of the actuating member.

Figure 7 is a view of the blankfrom which one of the portions of the manually operable actuating member is formed.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the blank shown in Figure 6 after it has been bent into its final shape.

Figure 9 is a view of the blank from which the contact. carrying member is formed.

Figure 10 is a sectional view through one of the stops.

Figure 11 is an enlarged, fragmentary,

of a pin is loosely fitted.

sectional view through the pivotally joined actuating and contact carrying members.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary view of the switch and a sliding or moving member which may actuate it, showing one of the ways in which the switch may be used.

The switch comprises a manually operable member having an outer portion 1 formed of insulating material, and having fiat faces 2 and 3 arranged at an obtuse angle to each other, as may be seen from Figures 1, 3 and 5. These faces 2 and 3 have legends Off and On, as indicated at 4 and 5 formed thereon in black and white letters, respectively. This manually operable member has a metallic box-like portion 6 secured within the insulating member 1, preferably by casting the insulating material about the box-like member 6. This member 6 is formed from a blank, as shown in Figure 7, having openings 7 into which the insulating material may project to thereby secure a firm grip. The blank is formed with two projecting portions 8, provided with slots 9. It may also have a pair of openings 10 punched out at the time the blank is formed. This blank is folded or bent, as indicated in Figure '8,

to cause the openings 10 and the slots 9 to respectively aline. The manually operable member is pivotally mounted between a pair of lugs 11 struck up from a cover plate 12 and provided with alined openings. A pin 13 is passed through these openings and through the openings 10 and forms the pivot about which the manually operable actuating member is adapted to partially rotate. A contact carrying lever 14. is pivotally mounted between the outwardly project-ing lugs 8 of the actuating member, andis provided at its inner end with a slot or opening within which the enlarged portion 15 This pin has reduced portions 16 which loosely fit within the slots 9. The outer reduced portion 17 of the lever 14 carries an insulating sleeve 18, and insulating washers 19, and a loosely mounted disk contact 20, which it will be understood, forms the movable contact of the switch. The stationary contacts 21 are spring strips and are positioned within a box or casing 20, and suitably insulated andclamped thereto. A tightlywound helical spring 23 is looped thru an opening 24 formed in the lever 14, and has its ends 25 hooked around the projecting portions of the pin 13, and seated within grooves 25 the outer ends 27 of arched shaped stops 28 are riveted thereto, such stops of course being provided with shouldered portions to prevent their passage completely through the plate 12. These stops are mounted upon opposite sides of the lever 14 and may be provided with inwardly directed extensions 29. The upper portions 30-of these stops are flat, as maybe seen from Figure 10. The lever 14 is provided with flat diagonally arranged, relatively long faces 31, which contact with the flat portions 30 of the stops, when the lever is in its extreme positions. In this manner an extended bearing surface or striking surface is provided at an intermediate point of the lever 14, and the force of the blow of the lever is consequently distributed over a relatively extended area, thereby minimizing wear.

The peculiar construction illustrated is such that the moving contact has a longer range of spring-motivated travel than similar devices. The initial movement of the manually! operable member 1 produces no oscillation of the arm 14 which carries the moving contact. On the contrary, the arm 14 will retain its original angular position but will move bodily to right or left with one of the oblique shoulders 31 in flat hearing contact'with a portion 30 of one of the stops 28. This sliding movement of arm 14 will continue until the shank portion of the arm encounters the marginal edge 29 of surface 30 of the stop. At this time the pivotal connection between the manually actuated member and arm 14 will practically be in the line of force exerted by spring 23. Therefore, at this point the arm 14 will commence its angular movement and will be spring actuated substantially throughout its angular travel,thereby ensuring a most decisive engagement between the fixed and movable contacts of the switch.

Since practically the entire angular or oscillatory movement of arm 14 is spring motivated, it will be understood that such movement will be extremely rapid and the tumblers will consequently acquire considerable momentum. The force of the blow is borne by the relatively extended faces 31 of the lever, and the flat portions 30 of the stops. In addition to this action there is a shockabsorbing action due to the peculiar construction of this switch. When the motion of the central portion of the lever is suddenly arrested, its outer portion tends to rotate about a point substantially centrally of the levers, consequently moving the inner end of the lever outwardly to a slight ex tent. The reduced portions 16 of the connecting pin slides outwardly in the slots 9 over the extensions 8, against the action of the spring 23. In other words, a cushioning action is provided by the spring and by the peculiar co-relation of parts. It will be readily understood that this cushioning action also lessens the force of the blow, and consequently prolongs the life of the switch.

()ne way of mounting this switch is illustrated in Figure 1. It will be seen that a face plate 32 is provided with countersunk holes through which screws 34 pass. These screws also pass through corresponding apertures in a plate 12, and are threaded into portions 33 of the box or casing 22. If desired, this box or easing may be made of insulating material.

It is to be noted that the switch may be operated by either a direct inward push against the projecting portion of the operating member 1, or by a sidewise sliding push against such portion. In other words,

this switch combines the advantages of both the double push button or plunger type of switch, and the tumbler type. It may be operated with the utmost facility, either by the hand of the operator or by the arm, for instance, when his hands are already in use, it being merely necessary to press either directly against or slidably against the projecting portion of the switch.

It is also to be noted that the appropriate legend On or Oif is displayed in a conspicuous manner, and that the legend not then in use, is upon a slanting surface and is consequently not readily seen.

The switch, although admirably adapted for manual operation, is equally suited to automatic actuation. Figure '12 shows one of the ways in which this may be accomplished. A moving or sliding element 35, such for example as a sliding door, is provided with an outwardly projecting member 36. The switch is arranged in proximity to the member36 and with the actuating portion 1, directly in its line of travel. It will be seen thatas the member 36 strikes the outwardly projecting portion of the member 1, such portion is depressed and moved completely out of the way of the member 36, so that the sliding motion of the element 35 may continue without hindrance by the switch. However, upon the return stroke of the element 35 the member 36 engages the other portion of'the actuating member 1 and actuates it as previously described.

I claim:

1. A tumbler switch comprising a support, operating means pivotally mounted upon said support, a lever pivotally and slidably carried by said means, a spring tending to rock said lever, and a pair of stops located in the path of movement of said lever, whereby when said lever suddenly strikes one of said stops-its pivoted end will slide lltl relatively to said operating means to thereby produce a cushioning effect.

2. An electrical switch comprising a support, operating means mounted for oscillation with reference to said support, a lever pivotally connected with said operating means upon an axis radially remote from the axis of oscillation of said means, a spring for rocking said lever about its pivotal connection with said means, and a stop positioned in the line of travel of said lever, said lever having a relatively elongated angularly formed face adapted for flat contact with said stop, whereby to limit the movement of said lever about its pivotal connection with said means while permitting said lever a limited lateral translative movement substantially as and for the purposes described.

3.- An electrical switch comprising a support, an operating member pivotally mounted thereon and having a slotted projecting extension, a lever carrying a movable electrical contact, a pin carried within the slot of said extension, and connecting said lever and extension, a tension spring connected to said lever and to an independent point in said switch, and a pair of stops adapted to contact with said lever at a point intermediate its ends, whereby the force of a blow of said lever upon said stops is cush ioned by said spring.

4. A switch mechanism including a slotted face plate, an actuating member fulcrumed intermediate'its ends for limited oscillatory movement in the slot of said plate and providing angularly related cam surfaces adapted alternatively to project from the plane of said plate, a spring tending to maintain said actuating member in unstable equilibrium, whereby to force it to extreme positions at the limit of its movement in either direction, a relatively fixed contact, and a relatively movable contact operable responsive to movements of said actuating member, said cam surfaces being so formed that in each extreme position of said member one of said surfaces will be substantially flush with said plate and the other will diverge from the plane thereof, whereby said switch is adapted for mechanical actuation from a member reciprocable adjacent the face of said plate.

5. A tumbler switch including a manually oscillatable member, an arm fulcrumed to said member, a movable contact carried by said arm, means for maintaining said arm in unstable equilibrium about its fulcrum, a stop limiting the oscillatory movement of said arm in one direction, and a shoulder on said arm adapted to present a flat surface to said stop for sliding contact therewith, whereby said arm is free to move laterally with respect to said stop.

6. A tumbler switch comprising an oscillatable operating member, an arm fulcrumed thereto, an electrical contact carried by said arm, a relatively fixed contact within the range of movement of said electrical contact, a spring connected with an oscillatory portion of said arm and extending in a direction of the fulcrum thereof to a relatively fixed point, stops disposed to limit the movement of said arm in either direction, and shoulders upon either side of said arm adapted for lateral sliding contact with said stops, whereby initial'oscillatory movement of said operating member will be productive of lateral sliding of said arm until the fulcrum of said arm approaches the line of force exerted by said spring, and substantially the entire oscillatory movement of said arm about its fulcrum will be spring motivated.

7. An electrical switch including an oscillatory arm in unstable equilibrium, a contact member carried by said arm, stops adapted to limit the oscillatory movement of said arm, said stops and said arm being provided with complementary surfaces adapted to permit lateral sliding contact in the angular positions of said arm, and means for actuating said arm.

FRANK E. KLOSS. 

